The most remarkable factor in the Dons first ever League title success in 1955 was that there were no new additions to the playing staff in the summer of 1954.

Although Aberdeen had finished in 9th position in 1953.54 their league placing was not as bad as it seemed. Had Aberdeen won their final game of the season at Easter Road they would have climbed to third place, such was the parity in the league at that time. Manager Dave Halliday and trainer Dave Shaw were happy enough with the players at their disposal. The Dons had lost out in the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers in a replay, so the foundations for a serious challenge were certainly there.

What was in their favour in the 50’s was the fact that there were no clear favourites before the season started. Certainly the Old Firm would be there, but the challenge from both Hibernian and Hearts was a realistic one. Both Hibernian and Rangers shared the championships in the early 50’s before Celtic broke the mould on 1954. All of the big city clubs could command crowds in excess of 40,000, and with clubs paying their players more than they could earn in England, it was more of a level playing field. Whether Aberdeen could breach the top four remained to be seen, but history tells us that no less than seven different clubs won the title between 1947-1965. It was a window of opportunity in Scottish football that had never been seen before or since.

The Aberdeen side had a settled look about it after a reasonable season in 1953.54. Manager Halliday resisted the temptation to bring in any new faces. Fred Martin was the established No1 keeper having been a regular in the Dons side since 1951, taking over from George Johnstone. Reserve keeper Reggie Morrison was a more than able back up and we soon to balance playing for the Dons and his National Service duty. Jimmy Mitchell was signed by Halliday from Morton in a record 10,000 deal and he was immediately installed as captain of the side. Halliday looked upon Mitchell as a vital factor in the side and his leadership qualities would be vital in the months ahead. Mitchell’s presence in the side was tough on Bob Paterson who was the skippers’ understudy. At left back it was a straight choice between Billy Smith and Dave Caldwell. The contrast in style between these two made it a difficult choice—while Caldwell adopted a more methodical approach, Billy Smith was very much in the face of opponents, a tough competitor.

The half back line may not have been as straightforward as legend would have us all believe. The renowned trio of Allister, Young and Glen will go down in Pittodrie folklore forever. Halliday and Shaw only decided how they came about after some considerable time. Jack Allister was brought from Chelsea and in January 1954 in a friendly against Wolves at Pittodrie, Allister was handed the inside right role—a problem area for the Dons at that time. The idea was soon changed due to an injury in that game to Alec Young. Allister reverted to his right half role and established himself in the side. Allister was tenacious player and one description was typical as Jackie would be in amongst a melee of players with boots flying all over the place and out he would come with the ball at his feet. Alec Young was plucked from successful junior side Blantyre Vics and regarded by many as too small for a centre half but Halliday had a good feeling about Young when he went to watch him play. The Aberdeen manager liked what he saw and soon Alec Young was mixing it with the best forwards in the country and invariably coming out on top.

His famed sliding tackles were turned in to almost art like form. Archie Glen completed the Dons half back line and he added the grace and composure to the side. Glen was another player who was brought from junior ranks, spotted by George Hamilton on a chance visit back to his native Ayrshire.
Perhaps the most potent weapon in the Aberdeen side was their pace in attack. This went against the norm in Scottish football as speed, although an asset was not essential. The stereotype defender was one of a bustling, no-nonsense type who took no prisoners. Coming up against players with pace frightened them. Aberdeen in 1955 had that in abundance. Graham Leggat had emerged from the reserve team as a youngster of vast potential and he saw off the challenge of Alan Boyd and others to stake a claim for regular starting place on the right wing. On the left side it was Jackie Hather, known as ‘The Hare’ due to his blistering speed.

Hather was the only Englishman in the squad, brought from the coal mining area of the north east; he played his entire career with only one kidney. In 1955 there was little doubt that Hather was the quickest player in the game. The spearhead of the front line was Paddy Buckley, signed from St Johnstone by Halliday. Buckley was the original livewire—a cheeky smile disguised a burning desire to succeed. Buckley had the lot and he would take some real tough treatment from defenders, his numerous injuries through the years bear testimony to that.

The link between the forward line and the defence came with Harry Yorston on the right and Bob Wishart. Yorston was perhaps never fully appreciated by the support—often criticised but he endeared himself with his fellow pros. Bob Wishart was the more cultured of the two and offered a fine balance on the left. Bob told me often enough how much of a pleasure it was to have the likes of Jackie Hather outside of him, and how he would gladly send through balls to him and watch how he would literally fly past defenders. Far from being an easy task the contributions of Yorston and Wishart should never be under estimated.

Dave Halliday and Dave Shaw had more or less settled on their side for the season after the League Cup sectional ties revealed that there was some fine-tuning to be done. George Hamilton was now in his 38th year and was only expected to play a cameo role in the coming months. ‘Gentleman George’ was still very much in demand—as he dropped down to play a senior role with the reserve team, several Scottish clubs including Dundee tried to persuade him to move. Jimmy Wallace made way for Jackie Allister after injury ruled him out for a spell.

Centre half Jim Clunie was also knocking on the first team door but the more experienced Alec Young was preferred. Joe O’Neil the Dons hat trick hero against Rangers in the 1954 Scottish Cup semi final was another who could fill a variety of roles—O’Neil was signed by the Dons in the face of stiff competition from Rangers.

It would never happen these days but the Dons side had a settled look about it and barring injury or a desperate loss of form, then that would be the selected eleven Dons hopes were pinned on. What was significant was the fact that Aberdeen had good cover in every position. It was a first team in the true sense—if any player was missing then the reserve would slot in and be expected to carry out a similar role.

Each player was aware of what was expected—on one occasion after Fred Martin came back from the World Cup in 1954 he tried throwing the ball out to his full backs. This was met with howls of derision from the Pittodrie crowd. Keepers kicked the ball as far and as high up the field as they could. That was just the way it was. Supporters were never receptive to change. Scotland had been hammered by Uruguay in the World Cup and lessons were learned all round, unfortunately the message was not getting through to the terraces.

There was one new concept that the Aberdeen public were enthralled by—the very first television to appear in the city. Ironically the first ever transmission was a football match! Scotland played host to the might of Hungary at Hampden at the end of 1954 and some hectic activity to set up a link between Glasgow and Aberdeen paid off when the first pictures came through at the Redifusion shop in Union Street as the crowds gathered to get their first glimpse of this new technology.

There was an almost relaxed approach by the club in those days. Certainly there was never the intensity that surrounds the game these days with television and the media ever demanding. Training would be taken by Dave Shaw in the mornings and it was Shaw’s afternoon sessions that created a real positive bonding between the players as first team and reserve players alike joined in for those extra sessions. Manager Dave Halliday was rarely seen at the ground—perhaps on a Tuesday for the weekly meeting he may have popped his head in to the pitch to see the players training.

The only other occasion Halliday would be at the ground would be on a match day. All other business was conducted away from Pittodrie and Dave Shaw was responsible for looking after the players on a daily basis. Halliday’s role was far removed form the lies of what Steve Paterson does today. Halliday was more of a secretary as much as anything else and he would also personally scour the country for new talent as the only scouting network you would find in those days would be in a school hut.

Travelling to games was as long as any other club and the long hours spent away also helped build team spirit. The club always went to games by first class rail travel. If they were down in Glasgow then the journey would be made on the Friday night with a top class hotel booked and a possible theatre visit. What many will find hard to believe was the fact that Aberdeen first team players were the highest paid in Britain at one point. In England a wage ceiling was in force and the top Scottish clubs set their wage structure slightly higher with a view to keep their top players in Scotland. Aberdeen first team players were on about 18 pounds per week with the reserves picking up 14 pounds.

There was also the bonus of 2 pound for a win. Only Rangers could come close to matching that amounts. There was also a loyalty payment made by the club with 750 pounds coming each player’s way after five years service with Aberdeen. National Service had also to be taken in to account as players were often away doing their duty in the prime of their footballing careers.

There were few indications at the start of season 1954.55 that Aberdeen would be genuine challengers for the championship. The League Cup campaign was riddled with inconsistency—an opening 4-0 win over Queen of the South was tempered by a three-goal defeat in Dumfries. Perhaps it was the Dons taking to the air for the first time for a domestic game that unsettled the team. The squad flew from Dyce to Prestwick and took the coach for the final part of their journey. For whatever reason the idea was ditched—perhaps the precarious flight back to Aberdeen had something to do with it as one of the engines caught fire on descent to Dyce airport!

The Dons just failed to qualify from their section, which also included Hibernian and holders East Fife. Despite beating the Methil side 3-0 at Bayview and 5-1 at Pittodrie they finished a point behind the Fifers in the final table.

While the manager made some changes to the side the opening league game at home to Stirling Albion gave the Dons a real chance to get off to a flyer. The previous games against Stirling at Pittodrie had resulted in 8 and 6 goal wins for the Dons and on this occasion they hit a hapless Albion for five with big Joe O’Neil scoring twice. A week later another late O’Neil goal helped Aberdeen to 2-0 win at Dens Park before a crowd in excess of 27,000.

While it was premature to talk of a challenge at that point the Dons maintained their 100% start when they crushed Hibernian 3-1 at Pittodrie. Fortune may have smiled on the Dons that day as it was late goals again that gave them victory but only after Hibernian had to play the second half with ten men following Buchanan’s unfortunate leg break.

A week later Aberdeen went clear at the top after four games when they won 3-1 at Motherwell—the Fir Park clubs first defeat. That set up the visit of second place Celtic. Even at that early stage the outcome would perhaps have a huge bearing on the title. A huge 38,000 crowd gathered at Pittodrie for what was sure to be a real test for Aberdeen—Celtic were reigning champions and were favourites to retain their title. In what was the Dons only home defeat all season two second half goals gave the Parkhead side victory.

It was a tough, bruising game—Harry Yorston resumed in the second half with his head bandaged after getting three stitches in a head wound. Celtic were desperate to stop Aberdeen at all costs even when Stein hauled Buckley back by ripping his shorts off. Aberdeen were toppled from the top for the first and only time after this result. The Dons responded in magnificent fashion in their next outing; hitting St Mirren for four at paisley.

The side was under pressure and was depleted by the loss of Fred Martin with flu while Yorston and Buckley were playing for Scotland in Cardiff. However with Celtic dropping a point against Queen of the South it was the Dons who returned to the top on goal average.

East Fife may have been regarded as a top side in Scotland at that time but the Bayview side held few fears for the Dons as they crushed the Fifers 4-1 at Pittodrie. Despite losing their 100% away record when they went down in quagmire conditions against Partick Thistle at Firhill, that defeat only increased the doubters as to Aberdeen title credentials.

As the winter took a grip on the country Aberdeen marched on regardless and seemed to have rid themselves of inconsistency that had blighted previous attempts. Queen of the South (2-0), Raith Rovers (2-1), Hearts (1-0), Falkirk (1-0) and Kilmarnock (4-0) were all put to the sword before the Dons came unstuck in the mud of Ibrox in a 3-1 defeat on 11th December. That defeat only heightened the doubts—the press in the south cast a dark shadow over the Dons title challenge but the fact was that the Dons were still clear leaders.

It was criticism like that, which only galvanized the Dons who felt they had to prove something in each passing game. Whether or not this had a positive effect is not clear, but following the Ibrox defeat Aberdeen embarked on a sequence of wins that was to ultimately win the championship.

By the end of February the Dons dropped only one point from eight games and that broke the resistance of Rangers and Hibernian who were now well off the pace. Only Celtic and Hearts could catch the leaders. In the middle of that spell was a crucial 1-0 win at Easter Road on 3rd January. Paddy Buckley scored the only goal of the game when he totally deceived Hibs centre half Plenderleith. The wily Buckley dummied the ball straight from a Fred Martin clearance and ran fully 30 yards before clipping the ball past Younger.

It was a vital win that stretched the Dons lead to six points at the turn of the year.

The only blot on the Dons copybook was a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle in March. This defeat came after two grueling Scottish Cup ties against Hearts. The Dons midweek replay at Pittodrie had been a controversial affair with goals from Buckley and Yorston taking Aberdeen through to the semi finals. A massive crowd of 41,000 was at Pittodrie for that one. Perhaps Hearts were looking for revenge in the league game as Aberdeen had effectively ended their season with the cup win. Hearts surprised many by coming to Pittodrie and defended in depth—no doubt mindful of their 3-0 drubbing in the same competition a year earlier. This did not go down well with the crowd and Hearts robust approach also infuriated the Dons support. When the dust had settled after the three meetings in seven days it was Aberdeen who emerged the happier as the league defeat only delayed the Dons championship push.

The decisive day came at Pittodrie on the 2nd April when Rangers travelled north. Aberdeen were without Fred Martin who was about to shed seven goals for Scotland at Wembley. For once Rangers were at full strength with no Ibrox players with the national team. Paddy Buckley had been in superb form and it was his hat trick that helped eclipse Rangers before a joyous Aberdeen crowd. Graham Leggat hit a late fourth goal fro the Dons and the rout was complete. The good news continued when it emerged that Celtic had lost at home to Hibernian. The title was won that day in eyes of the support but although now within touching distance, there was still some work to do.

All attention now turned to Shawfield and the trip to Clyde on the 9th April. The Aberdeen objective was clear—three points from their final three games would take the title. A win over Clyde would put Celtic out of the running whatever they did and if Hearts did not win at Ibrox that same day then Aberdeen would be champions. The Hearts challenge was disappearing in each passing game. They would have to win their last six games and win them with a lot to spare to catch Aberdeen on goal average. It was a long shot at best, but still mathematically possible. Celtic were the main challengers. If Aberdeen lost at Clyde then the following week the Dons were due at Parkhead for what many had hoped would be a title decider.

That was the last thing that Aberdeen wanted so the Clyde game was a massive one for the club.
To add spice to the occasion it was Clyde who ended the Dons cup interest only days previously when then beat the Dons 1-0 in a replay of their semi final. While the Dons failed to rise to the occasion in that one the focus was now on two precious points at Shawfield. The Clyde ground was not typical of others in that the stadium had a huge running track around the perimeter, which hosted regular dog racing.

The massive scoreboard at one end restricted access to the crowd who were so far away from the action. The almost eerie like atmosphere did not help the Dons. Clyde were enjoying the most successful period in their history and boasted three Scottish internationals in their side. They also had former Aberdeen manager Pat Travers in charge and he knew enough about the Dons to know that his team could cause them problems. Aberdeen were also badly hit with injury as both Paddy Buckley and Jackie Allister were ruled out.

There was no doubt that Aberdeen players were nervous—they knew what was at stake. The game reflected that apprehension—fragmented and littered with errors. The game was settled in the 13th minute when Aberdeen gained a penalty. Graham Leggat’s deep corner found George Hamilton at the back post.

His header was then cleared off the line as keeper Hewkins came for it and missed. The ball bounced up invitingly for Bob Wishart whose header looked net-bound. It was then that Clyde defender Murphy punched the ball clear. A penalty for the Dons! Both Archie Glen and Jackie Allister used to take alternate penalties but Glen had no doubt suffered a crisis of confidence as he had missed his last two efforts. Allister had then taken on the responsibility but with Jackie not in the side that day it fell on Glen’s shoulders. Glen had done his homework though and noticed that South African keeper Hewkins was weak on his left side. Glen opted to hit it hard to Hewkins left hand post the ball flew in to the top corner and Aberdeen had the vital lead.

It was an advantage they would hold on to despite some nervy moments. Jimmy Mitchell & Co defended in depth towards the end of the match and held out. For George Hamilton, playing in his last ever game, it was fitting end to a glorious career. When news came through that Hearts had lost at Ibrox the Dons were now Champions.

It was in the confines of the dressing room that the champagne was in full flow and the realisation that Aberdeen had won the title for the first time. When the Dons party arrived back in Aberdeen Joint Station there were no thronging masses to greet their heroes. It was late that Saturday night that around 30 Aberdeen supporters were present. In hindsight this was new territory for the club—there was never the same glamour and excitement attached to the league as there was with a cup success.

Aberdeen won the championship winning 24 of their 30 league games with only one defeat at home.